PEP LOVE DOLLA DAILY PACKAGESWith very few exceptions, Hip Hop anthems have their popularity, and perhaps a resurgence among a new generation of fans - then they go on to the next anthem. Not so for Souls of Mischief's seminal classic '93 'til Infinity, which has remained popular for a 20-year run and counting. 50-somethings all the way down to tweens know every word to the song, which was born when A-Plus bought a dollar record by Billy Cobham (Heather) and began to sample it, adding his now-signature rhythms, drum patterns, and more.

Souls of Mischief began to come together when the members were just children in elementary school. Oakland native Tajai began rhyming with future band mate A-Plus at age 8, while both were in elementary school. "My dream and goal since I was 8, was to come out with a dope hip hop album and be in the same peer group as all of the rappers I looked up to at the time. To be a part of that exclusive club of hip hop artists recognized and respected for their work," A-Plus reminisces.

Tajai and Phesto met later in junior high school. Tajai later introduced A-Plus and Phesto to the remaining Souls of Mischief member, Opio, and the group informally formed in high school before making their major-label debut on Jive Records with their well-received album 93 ‘til Infinity, in 1993. While most recording artists are still honing their craft in high school, Souls of Mischief were ready to realize their dreams. Phesto Dee explains it best "My dream was to be a famous, dope ass multi-talented rapper and producer..and garner respect from my peers and colleagues. We have been fortunate enough to attain longevity which was something I thought about, but never imagined would come true. 20 years is a blip in time really but that is considered a long career in this industry. So to still be living my dream twenty years later is incredible."

93 ’til Infinity is the group’s highest charting album to date (#17 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums; #85 Billboard 200), and in January, 1998, was named one of the Top 100 Rap albums by The Source magazine.The group stayed with Jive for one more album, 1995’s No Man’s Land, before being released from the label during that same year. In 1995, following the release of the group from its major-label contract with Jive, the group officially formed the alternative hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics, with emcees Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Casual, Pep Love, JayBiz, and producer Domino. The group participated as full members in both Hieroglyphics’ studio albums: 1998’s 3rd Eye Vision, and 2003’s Full Circle.

Popular artists from Kanye West to Just Blaze to Vampire Weekend to John Mayer and so many more have given props and kudos to Souls of Mischief in person and in public for being a huge influence musically, style-wise, lyrically, and for the impact of their produced music. Kanye West was impressed by the group's fashion sense and style as well. "They was like the first fresh to death group, they had the rugby's it wasn't about being a backpacker...they was like...the '93 me!" From Big Sean to Big K.R.I.T. and from Vampire Weekend to P-Diddy, other producers and artists have also paid their homage by sampling the group's music or interpolating it into their own sound. (Watch here)

Beyond influencing popular music, Souls of Mischief was one of the first groups to have a major impact on the skate, surf & snowboard culture as well. According to Tajai, it all started when the group "got in on the 411 Video Magazine and [Plan B’s] Second Hand Smoke skate videos. That catapulted us to a whole different level. Fortunately, skaters have followed us throughout the years. We’ve got snowboarder fans and surfer fans through videos. There’s this action sports crossover. At first it seemed kind of random. But when we got on those skate videos, they were these seminal skate videos, just like our record is a seminal record for California underground hip-hop. These skate videos had guys like Jovontae Turner or Mike Carroll and they were skating in a style that was brand new." Still making an impact to this day, the NBA is even getting in on the action. "They played “'93 'Til Infinity” at a Warriors game recently, and that felt good, because you’ve got 20 million people watching the playoffs on TV," explained Tajai.

All of this influence stems from five full-length albums together as Souls of Mischief, three of which were released on their crew's self-owned indie label, Hieroglyphics Imperium - 1999’s Focus, 2000’s Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution and 2009's Montezuma's Revenge. In an era when most rap albums are accomplished by emailing beats and verses back and forth, Souls of Mischief’s Montezuma’s Revenge was created the old-fashioned way, with the MCs – A-Plus, Phesto, Opio and Tajai - and producers – Prince Paul and Domino - in the lab together from the beginning to the end of the recording process honing and perfecting each song to create a magnum opus. Souls spent months in the lab working on their next studio album with Prince Paul (De La Soul, Gravediggaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School). Montezuma’s Revenge, which was later released in 2009 to critical acclaim, rave reviews, and a European tour in conjunction with Carhartt brand clothing. Since 2009, Souls members have remained busy on solo projects including A-Plus's "Pepper Spray", Tajai's "Machine Language", Opio's "Vulture's Wisdom 2" and his collaborative album with Pep Love as First Light "Fallacy Fantasy", and Phesto Dee's "Background Check". In 2013, the group is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the classic hip-hop album 93 ‘til Infinity, performing the album in its entirety with a live band on the Still Infinity Tour - hitting over 50 cities. If that wasn't enough, Souls are preparing for the 2nd Annual Hiero Day music and culture festival in Oakland (9/2013), conducting interviews for the first-ever book on SOM, and anticipating the release of a Souls of Mischief documentary film.

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Management: Ineffable Music Group

Email:igor@ineffablemusic.com

Office: 510.350.8896

Fax: 510.735.9804

Booking: Jake Schneider

Email: jake@madison-house.com

Press: Michelle McDevitt

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A-Plus

BIOGRAPHY

Since the late 1980s he has produced music for Hieroglyphics as a group and a musical collective, responsible for some of Hieroglyphics’ biggest hits & most critically-acclaimed tracks. He has also proven his versatility as a producer with critically acclaimed production credits on the works of artists encompassing many genres of music.

You might know Jonathan Owens aka Casual as the co-founder of the Oakland based supergroup Hieroglyphics. However, If you look deeper, you learn that he is a self taught historian, linguistics expert, and highly heralded as “your favorite rappers favorite rapper”. Casual leaves listeners inspired to define their musical experience referencing current events, ancient Egypt and just about everything in between. Known for his fierce battle tactics and unique wordplay he established a reputation for dissecting even the hardest MCs. Chris Witt of Allmusic explains “ Casual produces an unending and seemingly unstoppable flow of boasts and taunts, the simplicity of his message belies the complexity of his vicious wordplay.” From his critically acclaimed major label debut “Fear Itself”, classic crew albums “Full Circle” and “Third Eye Vision” to indie direct to fan projects like “Rapgod” and “Hierophant” Casual has continued to push the envelope building a legendary catalog and cult following.

In addition to touring globally Casual has been just as active on the business side starting a production company “Wetworks Films”, launching the “Hiero Day Festival” and most recently pioneering “Hiero Coin” a new digital currency.

2014 is shaping up to be the biggest year to date for Casual as he prepares for the 20 year anniversary of what might be his most popular album “Fear Itself”. The celebration will kick off with a world tour where he will be performing the original album in its entirety and continue throughout the year with a unique look back at the project and its impact.

Hailing from Oakland, California, Del and his crew, the Hieroglyphics came out as a markedly non-gansta response to a burgeoning West Coast scene. After being put on at the tender age of 17 by his cousin Ice Cube, Del released two records on Elektra, I Wish My Brother George Was Here (1991) and No Need For Alarm (1993). Despite record sales in the hundreds of thousands, he recorded a third album, Future Development, which was never commercially released.

DJ Toure began producing music for the Hieroglyphics Collective, who have established themselves as mainstay in the underground hip hop scene. He has made a name for himself as a producer in the Bay Area for his original and creative style of aggressive, bold and colorful melodies over bass-heavy tracks.

Born in San Francisco, California, Domino is a record producer, manager & DJ. He began his music career as a rapper, but by 1989-90 had switched almost exclusively to beat making. By the time he joined the Hieroglyphics in the mid-1990's Domino concentrated solely on beat making and production.

Rise and shine for First Light is on the horizon. Opio and Pep Love of the famed Hieroglyphics hip hop collective have joined forces to illuminate the day and expound upon the Hiero theme of random acts of musical collaboration. First Light gets its cue from the braggadocio and conceptual characteristics that were commonly expressed in the early nineties "Golden Era" of hip hop.

Founded in 1997 in Oakland, CA, Hiero Imperium Records is A-Plus, Casual, Del The Funky Homosapien, DJ Toure, Domino, Opio, Pep Love, Phesto, and Tajai. Coming off waves of success from earlier releases like Souls of Mischief's '93 Til Infinity, the Hiero crew had already established themselves as a name in underground hip-hop, and soon released their first collective project Third Eye Vision. Since then the Hiero team has been thriving in the hip-hop world, releasing a number of projects within the label as well as branching out for collaborations with the likes of Jurassic 5, George Clinton, Dilated Peoples, Q-Tip, Xzibit and Gorillaz.

As a teen, Opio hooked up with local rappers Tajai and A-Plus, whom he met through Casual, another emcee who was Opio's classmate and neighbor. The three instantly clicked and began recording together, soon adding fourth emcee Phesto Dee, to form the group Souls of Mischief. Together with Del the Funky Homosapien, Casual, Domino, and Pep Love, the legendary crew Hieroglyphics was born.

With Pep Love's intricate raps, indelible performances and hard-hitting beats in addition to Hieroglyphics albums Third Eye Vision and Full Circle, Pep has amassed a highly-respected, musical catalog through adaptation and consistency.Growing up in a musically and socially informed family Pep has always nurtured a passion for the culture later chronicled in the lyrics of the song “Hip-Hop My Friend.” “I’ve been a dreamer always. Being an artist is trying to manifest those dreams." says Pep when remembering the journey that has led him to the destination in which we find him today. He connected with close friend and DJ/producer Jay-Biz while in high school, and formed The Shamen, a duo that would later gain recognition for witty raps and mosaic beats under the guise of The Prose. While the tandem would begin working with a collective rap crew known as Hieroglyphics, Pep performed incessantly as a fiercely dedicated Rap argonaut. “We were spending time with each other freestyling, making songs and involved in each other’s lives as artists and friends,” Pep recalls of his high school classmates, including A-Plus, Casual, and Opio. “The clique of rapping cats.”

In 1995, Souls of Mischief members A-Plus, Opio, Phesto and Tajai joined forces with the other members of the Hieroglyphics crew including Del, Domino, Pep Love, and Casual to create a new independent label- Hieroglyphics Imperium- to publish and market the collective's, and individual members', releases.
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Tajai Massey, known by the stage name, Tajai. He is one of the four founding members of Souls of Mischief. In elementary school Tajai met fellow Souls of Mischief member A-Plus, and the duo began their nascent rap careers. Tajai eventually introduced A-Plus to future Souls of Mischief members Phesto and Opio, and the group formed in high school before releasing their debut album '93 Till Infinity on Jive Records in 1993.